


Chrysanthemums

by captainkaltar



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Domestic, Established Relationship, Galra Keith (Voltron), Keith and Shiro are an old married couple, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Married Couple, Post-Canon, Sheith Spring Flower Exchange, Stargazing, The universe is at peace everything's alright Voltron won, well okay he's half-Galra but still close enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 20:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10952094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkaltar/pseuds/captainkaltar
Summary: A night of impromptu stargazing stirs up some old memories for Keith and Shiro.I wrote this little piece of soft fluff for @galakitty for the Sheith Spring Flower ExchangeChinese Chrysanthemum = cheerfulness under adversity





	Chrysanthemums

Sleep didn’t come easily to Keith. 

It never had; not when he was a child, lonely and rootless, not when he was an overwhelmed yet keen Garisson student, certainly not when he’d first taken on the mantle of a Voltron Paladin, back when the universe needed saving and any breath could have been his last. How could he sleep with such a grand mission ahead of him? He’d always assumed that he could get plenty of rest if and when he settled down, once they’d brought down Zarkon and the universe had found peace. 

But now that he was here, now that the Paladins and the Alteans had gone off in different directions to live their different lives, he found that he was as awake as ever, and sleep was as far away as space had seemed to him when he was small, a lonely boy with no one to comfort him but the stars. Even the soft, regular breathing coming from the body curled up next to him failed to ease his mind and help him close his eyes. No, if he was to get enough rest tonight, he’d have to do what he always did back in the day, when foster parents or upcoming flight tests or dangerous space missions had filled his mind and kept it too busy to switch off. 

He pressed a fond little kiss to the bridge of his husband’s nose, over that old scar that still crossed his handsome cheeks, prominent even after all these years. “I’ll be back soon, Takashi, I promise.” He couldn’t help but crack a soft smile; it always made him happy to see his husband in a peaceful sleep. He’d fought hard to be able to have this, to have Shiro rest at night undisturbed, to have him happy and relaxed, untroubled by the harsh nightmares that used to plague even his light afternoon naps. 

It was a chilly night, even by his cold-tolerant Galra standards. He’s gotten more and more used to low temperatures as time wore on; it was one of many changes that his body had undergone after his time in space, and after he’d discovered his alien heritage. He shivered, pulling one of Shiro’s old jackets from the hooks on the wall next to the door and wrapping himself in it, his husband’s scent clinging to the soft, time-worn fabric. 

He sat down on the steps of their front porch, staring up at the sky. There was one good thing about the cold, he supposed; the lack of blanketing clouds did make for a clear sky, and out here where they were so far away from civilization the stars were perfectly bright and visible, stretching off into infinity. It would be a good night to set up the telescope Shiro had insisted on buying, but he could never get the hang of rigging that thing up, and he didn’t want to wake his husband just for the sake of a few stars. They were Voltron Paladins, they’d spent the better part of their lives up there among them. 

Pulling the jacket tighter around his narrow torso, he let out a long breath, trying to calm his restless mind. They’d never really had time to do this when they were younger; they’d been so busy trying to save the universe that there’d been little time to stop and take in exactly what they were defending. There’d been no time to breathe while piloting their Lions, no time to stop and simply exist as he was doing now. 

He didn’t notice the hand on his shoulder at first, nor the larger body sitting down next to him. He was so lost in thought that it wasn’t until Shiro spoke that it fully registered that he was no longer alone. 

“Can’t sleep?” Shiro’s voice was soft, his arm around Keith a little tentative. He’d never fully gotten used to that harsh metal thing outside of combat. It truly was a weapon, not made to do much of anything else. Still, the slight coolness, the hint of static shock were familiar and soothing as it wrapped around Keith’s shoulders. 

“No, not tonight.” Keith sighed. “I think it’s my Galra side acting up again.” His friends from Marmora still had a lot to teach him about the ways of their species, but he’d known since very early on that Galra preferred to be active in the dark. 

“You’ve always been a night owl, I wouldn’t worry about it.” 

“Yeah…” Keith rested his head on Shiro’s shoulder, looking up. This planet’s stars were so different that the constellations he’d grown up with, but this night sky felt more like home than Earth’s ever had. “Remember how we used to stay up way later than Coran or Allura wanted us to, back on the castleship?” 

“Remember how you kept falling asleep in Red’s cockpit instead of your own room?” Shiro laughed. 

“I still do that sometimes! Admit it, you went to take naps in Black sometimes, those pilot seats are comfy.” Keith could sense the Lion’s presences, from where they rested in their hangar near the little house, waiting until the universe needed their help again. 

“Yeah, not gonna lie. But hey, it was exhausting trying to lead you guys back then. You and Lance used to always be at each other’s throats, everything was a contest!”

“Gotta admit,” Keith snuggled closer to his husband “Lance and I get along a lot better now that we spend most of our time on different planets.” They couldn’t help but laugh at that. 

It was a long time before either of them spoke again, their laughter drifting into a comfortable silence. Shiro wrapped both his arms around Keith, protective and gentle in a way that always made the smaller man’s heart soar. The air around them was heavy with reminiscing, both of them lost in thought. Eventually, it was Shiro who broke the silence. 

“Do you ever miss it?” 

“Miss what?” 

“Being up there.”

“What do you mean? We still take the Lions out for rides, and go visit the rest of Team Voltron.”

“No, like being a Paladin, having a mission, having enemies to defeat and the whole universe to save.” 

“I don’t know, do you miss it?” 

Shiro fell silent, his metal fingers drumming gently against Keith’s shoulder in a way that meant he was thinking hard.   
“I don’t think so. I miss the adrenaline rush sometimes, and I kind of wish I still had a purpose, you know? But it’s nice to be able to sleep at night without worrying about getting attacked. I used to get so afraid for all of you, for the team.”

“We were the ones afraid for you!” Keith wrapped his arm around Shiro’s waist. “You were always so bright and such a great leader, but we knew it put so much strain on your shoulders.” 

“I know it did, and you in particular were always there for me.” Shiro’s mouth curled into one of those fond, gentle smiles of his. 

“I tried to be.” Keith shuddered as he remembered thing he’d rather forget, times when he and Shiro had been forced apart, and he’d been left without any idea of where his lover was, let alone whether he was safe and alright. 

“You did, you did so well.” Shiro pulled Keith into his lap, trying to surround him and keep him close. “My right hand man.” 

“You’re never going to get tired of calling me that, are you?” Keith grinned, his face buried in Shiro’s shoulder. 

“Nope, not until all those stars up there die out and fade to nothing.” Shiro’s Galra hand slipped under Keith’s knees, lifting him effortlessly into a bridal hold, making Keith let out a little yelp of surprise. It quickly turned into a much happier sound, however, as Shiro’s lips pressed against his own, warm and familiar and so comforting that Keith barely even registered that he was being picked up clean off the ground and carried back to their little bedroom, not until he was set down gently on the sheets and his face was covered in gentle little pecks, those feathery kisses that Shiro had been giving him ever since they were Garrison students together. 

“You going to sleep okay tonight?” Keith looked up at his husband, eyebrows furrowed with worry despite all the affection he was being showered with. He could do just fine with only a few hours of sleep, but Shiro needed his rest. 

“If you stay with me, I will.” Shiro lay back down in bed, wrapping his arms around Keith. “Cuddle me, for old time’s sake?” 

Keith could never resist him. Nestled against Shiro’s broad chest, his face tucked carefully against his husband’s heart, even the restless Galra soldier in him managed to find peace. It wasn’t long before the two of them were drifting off, finally content and happy together, able to rest in each other’s arms and give each other all the time in the universe.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Spring, @galakitty!!! Hope you like the fic, sorry if it kind of strayed from the prompts you wanted, and sorry the gift came late T_T


End file.
